Seattle Mom Blogs

So it was the weekend of the Seattle R.ock N R.oll again.  This time, 27,000 runners registered for the sold out race.  As usual, most of the runners registered for the half.  L and I were all set for the full 26.2 miles and made plans to meet downtown at 5 am.  Which meant I got up at 4 am.  Let me repeat that- I voluntarily got up at 4 am on a Saturday to go run 26.2 miles.  Cra-zy.

There were some glitches with the shuttle buses and lack of adequate port-a-potties for 27,00 runners plus volunteers.  The race started and our corral (#8 which was a HUGE improvement over corral #24 from last year) already crossed the start line while we were all still standing in line for the bathroom.

L and I jumped in with another corral as it approached the start and we took off.  It was so crowded and hard to find a good pace for miles.  I hate to say it but there were too many racers.

Oh and let me back up- on the way down to the shuttle buses, L told me she had decided to run the half instead of the whole.  I had to understand as she had been sick twice and had been traveling which had left her very little opportunity to run in the month leading up the race.  So I already knew she would be leaving me when the groups split at mile 9.2.  Instead, we ended up splitting at mile 5 as she needed to stop and deal with some issues.  Damn.  21.2 more miles to go and now I’m alone.

I kept my eye on my Garmin to keep my pace about 8:35-8:45 per mile (going for a sub-4 hour finish!) and hit L.ake Washin.gton Blvd.  I love the stretch along this road from Seward Park to Madison Park.  At mile 9, in Leschi, we ran up the on-ramp to get on the express lanes of I-90.  At that point, my Zune quit on me.  Dead.  Totally dead.  Now I am looking at 17.2 more miles with NO ONE TO TALK TO AND NO MUSIC.  This sucked pretty bad.

I ran out across I-90 to Mercer Island and made the turn around to head back to Seattle.  We rejoined the half marathoners in the express tunnel and ran together for about 3 more miles into downtown.  I think they were on miles 9-12 and we were on 12-15 at that point.   I was slowing down to 9:15-9:30 minute miles which wasn’t going to get me my sub-4 finish.  I had a really hard time dealing with that.

I was struggling with pain in my pelvis from an injury I suffered a while ago.  I had a groin pull which led to an inflammation of my pubic joint and I have not been able to completely heal from this.  The pain in my pelvis led to a change in my gait and then my right calf started to try and cramp up.  The muscle would seize but not quite be able to cramp.  It was momentarily painful and highly annoying.  It was tempting to just cross over to the half marathoners and run their last mile with them and be done.  But I stuck with it and hit the on-ramp to 99.

Last year, the long stretch up to Fremont, back to way south of downtown and then up the hill back to Qwes.t Field was really hard on me mentally.  For some reason, this stretch wasn’t as hard for me this time.  Maybe because I had already had plenty of time to have my mental breakdowns from mile 5 on?  Who knows.

By mile 21, I was in so much pain that the pelvic pain and pain in my feet was all relative.  Everything hurt.  But everything always hurts at this point in the race.  I found my determination that had been missing since about mile 12 and managed to get my splits down closer to 8:50-9:00 minute miles.  The sub-4 finish had slid out of my grasp at about mile 19 and I knew there was no getting it back.

I managed the final turn around between mile 24 and 25 and headed back north to the exit to Qwest and the finish line.  Down the offramp and around the corner and the finish line is less than .2 miles away.  I sped up but was unable to actually break into a sprint to cross the finish line.  Chip time was 4:24.  Disappointing.

Sunday morning I finally faced the inevitable and looked up my stats:

Only 4,010 of the 27,000 ran the whole. That means I at least ran twice as far as 23,000 other people.  I was in top 40% of all marathoners; top 30% of all women and top 25% of women my age. I may not have gotten my sub-4 but maybe that’s OK.

I’ve been trying to be OK with this result but it was hard when I ran into my trainer at the gym this morning and he was so excited to hear about the race.  I felt like I was disappointing him when I told him I didn’t finish sub-4.  I’m sure he was just disappointed FOR me but still.

So: moving on to the next race.  The Ragnar Relay Northwast Passage to celebrate my 40th birthday.  Less than 4 weeks away…

A few of us here at SMB were lucky enough to be able to preview the amazing show KOOZA by Cirque du Soleil for you!  If you have never been to a Cirque du Soleil show, you are truly missing out on a fantastic feast for the eyes!  Music, singing, dancing, acrobatics, illusions, humor- these shows have it all, and SO much more!

Here is what we thought of our KOOZA experience- in our own words:

LAURA:

Kooza was our first introduction to Cirque de Soleil shows.  It was everything I had hoped Cirque du Soleil would be.  All of us were very entertained during the entire show, including my 5 year old son.  Every seat in the big tent is a great seat.  We were 3 rows from the last row and we were still very close to the stage.
My son keeps talking about it and asking me what my favorite part was.  He hasn’t quit talking about it since we went.  I honestly can’t pick a favorite act, because I really enjoyed it all.  His favorite was the skeletons and the men walking, jumping and flipping on the big huge wheels.
My family loved it and we look forward to seeing another Cirque du Soleil show again in the future!

MICHELLE:

My family and I saw the Cirque du Soleil show Kooza this past weekend.  While my husband and I have seen 2 other Cirque performances, this was our son’s first introduction.  It is so nice that Kooza is appropriate for the entire family!  There were people of all ages there and the whole thing is entertaining to young and old!  I love that Cirque du Soleil tells a story in between the acrobatic performances.  The story caries throughout the whole show and keeps you entertained and laughing while they gear up for the next set of stunts.  The audience participation is hilarious and keeps you guessing if you might be their next on-stage “victim”.  Very funny.  The music is beautiful- performed live on-stage during the show.  As far as my favorite acrobatic performance goes, I would have to say that the teeter-totter flippers are really fun to watch!  The extreme flexibility of one of the acts made me cringe a little- but, of course, it was truly amazing!  When I asked my son what his favorite part was, he replied, “Everything!”.  We all enjoyed ourselves immensely and can’t wait until another Cirque du Soleil show rolls into our area!

LESLIE:

This venue was so unique!  The entire show site is comprised of several huge tents.  The show arena was very intimate and there isn’t a bad seat in the house! All four of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  It really is hard to pick one act that we loved the most.  The guys on the spinning wheels and the flipping acrobats on stilts were ones that stood out for sure!  One tip: Get there early!  They do restrict your entrance if you don’t arrive on time- ahem, not that we would know anything about that.

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At the Seattle International Film Festival this month I got an early look at a screening of the documentary Waiting for Superman by Davis Guggenheim. I think this film will change the way that people in America view the education system. I think it will cause a massive unrest. I hope it will.

It’s a film about the broken education system in America. It’s a film about trying to find hope when many signs point to hope being lost. It’s a film about great educators and loving parents trying to do the best for children and meeting road blocks all along the way. It’s a film about our future and whether we will get up and do something about it. Superman is not coming to fix it but someone needs to.

The past few months as I’ve gotten a bee in my bonnet about where education is going in this country, I’ve had conversations with people from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Excellent Schools Now, two groups who are working for education reform. ESN is specifically working for an education revolution in Washington State, while The Gates Foundation is looking at the country as a whole.

My interest has always been in the quality of education my children receive. I’ve been very narrowly focused, wanting them to get the best teachers and have the greatest opportunities, teaching them at home and volunteering at the school.

After some of the conversations I’ve been having and especially after watching this film, I feel the need to broaden my scope. All children in this country should have a chance at a quality education, regardless of race, economic status or family background. They must. If our country is going to grow and be a prosperous nation, we have no other choice.

It is not enough for your child and my child to get a decent education. Our country is experiencing a serious shortage of educated workers to fill positions in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields right now, while at the same time many people are unemployed. This gap is only projected to get worse unless we see radical improvements in college readiness.

I’ve always believed that family is the greatest influence in a child’s life. I still do but after watching that documentary, I’m convinced that excellent teachers can make a huge difference in the lives of ALL children, even those with no support at home. I can’t necessarily heal and strengthen every family in this country. Sometimes I struggle with my own. But I feel that it’s possible to help make excellent education available to all children.

I’m new to this issue but I’m passionate about it. I’m not a teacher, a professional lobbyist or affiliated with any organization. Through this blog, I hope to learn more and explore ways big and small that we as individual parents can not only improve our own kids’ educations, but effect major change in the way education is run in this country and specifically Washington State. I’d love to hear your ideas and maybe we can all be Superman together.

Next Post: It Starts With a Teacher

Well, times and places were finally posted and I eagerly (naively) checked to see how I had done.  Ouch.  My overall time was no improvement over last year.  The course was not identical to my very first triathlon last summer but it was close enough to be comparable.  And I was almost 2 minutes SLOWER overall.  And you know what?  It was the stupid bike leg that killed me.  Yes, my swim time was a little slower but I was ready to accept that.  Both of my transition times were faster- that’s good.  But I was SIX MINUTES slower in the bike leg.  I am still trying to process how that happened.  Clearly I must have been out for a Saturday morning stroll on my bike while everyone one else was in a race.  Sigh.  The good news is that I kicked ass on the 5K at the end, numb feet and mud and everything.  I posted a 21:34 for the 5K which means I averaged a 6:54 mile for all 3.1 miles.  So, while I was top 1/3 for my age group, my overall results were not at all what I expected or wanted.  Time to get some bike training in.

I got up at 5:30 this morning and was out at the lake by 6:30 with my stuff.  As I looked around, I quickly realized I was one of maybe 4 or 5 people without a wetsuit on.  In fact, many of the people had on wetsuits, booties AND neoprene hats under their swim caps.  Uh oh.  Water temp was 59 degrees.  I was in trouble.

I was the only woman in my wave that was not wearing a wetsuit and I got a lot of sympathetic looks and comments from the other women.  I waded out to the start and pretty much went instantly numb.  Which at the time I thought was pretty OK.  The gun went off and we all took off.  There was the usual jostling for position and trying not to kick someone in the face or be kicked in the face yourself.  The water was cold but not too terrible except on my eyebrows which were really cold for some reason.  I rounded the first buoy and then trouble hit.  I started getting really tired and kept thinking it might be a good idea to stop.  Then I started thinking that taking my goggles off would be a good thing to do.  At that point I realized I was not having rational thoughts and I may be starting to get a bit hypothermic.

I looked at where the rescue boats were and they seemed so far away.  And then I thought about how humliated I would feel if I quit.  Fortunately, I had kept moving while weighing my options so by then I was close to the final buoy.  I put my head down and swam towards shore.  I was so relieved when I touched lake bed and stood up to run out of the water.

The bike leg was an exercise in humility as usual- people passing me left and right.  I did manage to pass a few people myself and just powered through until it was over and time to run.  After slogging through the mud in the transition area, I racked my bike and headed out to the run course.

I took off with two completely numb feet and legs that felt like bricks.  (Hence, the name for bike + run training intervals- bricks.)  Unfortunately I had forgotten my Garmin so I have no idea of my pace- 7:30 minute mile, 10 minute mile- who knows?  I managed to pass quite a few people, even when running through fields that were so muddy that people were coming close to losing shoes left and right.  I started to get some feeling back into my feet by mile 2 and was able to open up a little bit and work on passing some of the men that had passed me earlier.

I waded through another field of mud in the fnish chute and hit the finish line.  Woo hoo!  I was covered in mud and had seaweed (lake grass?) dried all over my arms and legs but I was done!

I am a daughter walking for my mother.

It’s that time again Seattle – time for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure - when all of downtown Seattle will be enveloped in a sea of pink.

I’ve never walked/ran/wogged an official 5K, but this year I’m a TEAM CAPTAIN!  You know what they say, “If you’re going to do something, be in charge!”  They do say that, don’t they?  Who are they anyway?  Regardless, I’m in charge of 12 people…all of whom are walking for my mom, who was just diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, Stage 1.   We’ve got pink neckelaces, buttons, bling and leis – oh my!  

From what I’ve heard, it’s going to be an emotional day, and that’s just fine with me.  While I’m busy walking and crying and hooting and hollering, my mom will be fighting her cancer, one positive thought at a time until she begins treatment. 

If you would like to join The Race for the Cure, you can register the morning of the race just by showing up at the Seattle Center (and paying a registration fee, these things aren’t free ya know) OR if you would like to know all there is under the sun regarding women’s health, please come to the Health Expo on Saturday, June 5th – also at the Seattle Center.

 

Carrie Blankenship chronicles her ups and downs of parenting 3 kids, 1 firefighter and 1 Australian Shepherd at Stop Screaming I’m Driving.  She can be bribed to do just about anything with a grande nonfat vanilla latte, extra foam.  This is, after all, Seattle:  The Land of Coffee.